Thursday: Unemployment Claims, Trade Deficit

The FOMC communicated today a lack of concern about the recent slowdown in economic data, describing it as “transitory” while “the fundamentals underpinning the continued growth of consumption remained solid”. Not surprisingly then the statement was interpreted as hawkish relative to market expectations, as the Treasury curve bear flattened (10-year Treasury yield was 4bps higher while 30-year was flat) and the dollar appreciated.

Thursday:• At 8:30 AM ET, The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for 246 thousand initial claims, down from 257 thousand the previous week.

• Also at 8:30 AM, Trade Balance report for March from the Census Bureau. The consensus is for the U.S. trade deficit to be at .5 billion in March from .6 billion in February.

• At 10:00 AM, Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders (Factory Orders) for March. The consensus is a 0.4% increase in orders.Calculated Risk